Print drivers have long been used to format and transfer computer data from a source of data such as a computer to an output device such as a printer. However, because printers from different manufactures typically have different software and hardware configurations, print drivers typically need to be customized to match the particular printer configuration. Users enter relevant data into the computer to customize the print drivers.
User entry of printer customization data can be time consuming, and is prone to user error. Thus bi-directional drivers that are capable of receiving and processing printer status and configuration data have been implemented.
However, the most widely used operating system, the Windows operating system from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash., are not designed to support bi-directional drivers. Current implementations of bi-directional drivers in Microsoft OS systems circumvent the spooler to enable data flow in two directions. Circumventing the spooler does not conform to Microsoft specifications. Failure to conform to Microsoft specifications creates problems regardless of the Windows operating system used. In Windows NT systems where many clients communicate to printers through a print server, the avoidance of the print spooler prevents the updating of printer information in the print server because typically, only a system administrator may change the printer configuration settings in the printer server. In Windows 95 and Windows 98 systems that utilize a print server, the print server data is not updated because Windows assumes that the print configuration data is local client data and thus fails to update the print server.
Thus an improved bi-directional print driver is needed.